Tony Evers announces push to address emerging chemical pollution

Gov.Tony Evers announced an executive order to increase state efforts and boost awareness of problems tied to perfluorinated chemicals.(Photo: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order Friday formalizing many of the administration’s responses to a group of chemicals thought to be widespread in the environment and that pose health dangers to humans.

Evers’ order highlights the state’s early-stage responses to address perfluorinated chemicals, also known as PFAS or “forever” chemicals because of their difficulty to break down in the environment.

PFAS compounds are in products ranging from non-stick cookware to firefighting foams and are being found to contaminate soil, groundwater and surface waters across the country.

To date, there are 21 open investigations around the state by the Department of Natural Resources involving contamination of PFAS compounds, according to state records.

They include a major contamination case in Marinette involving the pollution of soil, groundwater and surface water from firefighting foam; military installations including the Air National Guard 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee; and cases in Manitowoc, La Crosse, Madison, Rhinelander and Superior

Also, some communities, including Milwaukee, are detecting PFAS in drinking water at low levels. State officials say those levels should be monitored, but do not represent public health threats.

Friday’s announcement included the creation of a “PFAS Coordinating Council” that officials say will allow the DNR to target high-priority problem areas and better collaborate with other agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the University of Wisconsin System.

Since taking office in January, Evers’ initiatives include public information websites managed by the DNR and the Department of Health Services; requests to municipalities to test for the chemicals in their wastewater; and expanded water monitoring and fish sampling of state waters.

State crews are monitoring five key water bodies, including sections of the Mississippi, Wisconsin and Marinette rivers, for the presence of the chemicals in water and fish tissue and will report those findings in a few weeks, according to the DNR.

Most significantly, the DNR is advancing regulations on safe levels for two compounds — PFOS and PFOA — in groundwater.

But while environmental groups chafed at what they saw as a slow response from the state under former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, the proposed regulations are coming under fire from business groups that worry about potentially higher costs on water users such as manufacturers once regulations are in place.

Eric Uram of Madison, the national chair of the Sierra Club’s toxic committee, said Minnesota and Michigan “are light years ahead of Wisconsin,” adding that experts know enough about the dangers of PFAS to take action.

At the same time, he said, there isn’t enough known about the extent of the problem in Wisconsin.

But Scott Manley, senior vice president of government relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, said that while science should guide officials, business groups and others have so far been cut out of the regulatory process.

“Everything has been done completely behind closed doors with absolutely no transparency from the very beginning,” Manley said.

He said groups such as WMC were given no time to respond when health services officials, after more than a year of study, made recommendations to the DNR on June 21 to set safe limits for 27 new substances, including PFOS and PFOA.

In a statement, DHS spokeswoman Jennifer Miller said:

“DHS is required by state statute to provide recommended standards to the Department of Natural Resources. The public comment period was shortened due to timing and circumstances, but there will be ample time for public comment during the DNR’s rulemaking process.”

The regulations must still get a public vetting and will be reviewed by the Republican-controlled Legislature — a process that DNR officials said could take about 30 months.

Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said in a statement that, “it is vital that any work stemming from this executive order is carried out in a measured, deliberate, and transparent fashion by bringing a wide variety of stakeholders to the table and using reliable science.”

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